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A classic black boot that's versatile and well made.

Having size 2 feet, my shoe buying choices are quite limited- apart from buying kids' shoes, my only option is to go for a brand that makes smaller adult shoes. Barratts is just about the only shoe shop that does this, with their 'Petit Feet' range. They've taken a fair few of their standard adult shoes, and made them available in sizes 1 and 2, much to the delight of many a small-footed person like myself. My only slight annoyance with the range is that the vast majority of the shoes are high heeled; I'm guessing they assume that people short enough to have size 1 or 2 feet will be in need of an extra few inches of height! Which is sometimes true, but we need comfortable shoes too!

Anyway, on a mission to find some boots last autumn, I headed to the Barratts website to check out what delights the 'Petit Feet' section had in store for me. To be honest, if I had the luxury of size 3 feet (ah, bliss!), Barratts probably wouldn't be the place I'd look for shoes- most of their designs aren't exactly on the cutting edge of fashion! Case in point: the two pairs of boots I ended up buying last year are both still available this autumn, so I don't think Barratts are particularly good at moving with the times. That said, I did find two pairs that I liked, one of which was this black, heeled boot, which cost me £50.

These boots are made from 'other materials'- ie, not leather, but a manmade alternative that looks very similar. The heels, described as medium height are about 6cm, and fairly chunky, as you can see from the picture. I think this type of heel is perfect for everyday wear, being high enough to add a more dressy element to a casual outfit, while still being fairly comfortable to walk around in for long periods of time. The shoe part of the boot is smooth and rounded- nothing special, but a simple and attractive shape that goes well with the chunky heel.

Above the shoe, the 'leather' has that oversized, wrinkled look (OK, that doesn't sound particularly attractive, but you know what I mean!) that goes well with leggings or skinny jeans. Any wider trousers probably wouldn't fit inside these boots, as they're quite tight, and come to mid-calf length. These are pull-on boots (no zip), so they do take a bit of contortion to get into, but it's worth it for their great fit once they're on. I'd say my calves are slightly smaller than average, so anyone with large calves might find these a bit of a squeeze! The boots also have a buckle trim, consisting of three bronze coloured buckles attached to straps that go nowhere and do nothing- they're obviously purely decorative. These buckles do add a bit of interest to the boot, although I don't think I'd particularly miss them if they weren't there.

I've been very pleased with these boots- they look good with most of my clothes, and I've had lots of compliments from my friends while wearing them. They're also well made, and look pretty much like new, despite being worn so often last winter. Importantly for a heeled shoe, they're pretty comfortable, although I have experienced some problems with the hard shoe rubbing against the top of my toes on one foot, which can get quite painful after a while. Apart from that, they fit well around the foot and the calf, with enough room to wear them comfortably with skinny jeans. Overall, these are versatile and attractive boots the I'll hopefully be wearing for years to come!